Land off Sopwith Way, Swanwick

Land off Sopwith Way, Swanwick

This is the Public Exhibition of the proposal for the development of 46 dwellings on Land off Sopwith Way, Swanwick. It is proposed to submit an outline application.

Fareham Borough Council have stated in their “Planning the Future of Fareham Town Centre 2017” document that they require an additional 2000 houses than already planned for between now and 2036. These are on top of the 6000 new homes being built at Welborne and other sites already identified for development.

The site was submitted to Fareham Borough Council as part of the Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment in December 2015. The site is currently under consideration by the Council.

THE FEEDBACK PERIOD IS NOW CLOSED

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Proposal

The proposal is for 46 traditionally built homes ranging from 2 bed to 5 bed detached and semi-detached houses. There will be 18 affordable units (40%) available for either affordable rent or shared ownership.

Vehicular access will be off Sopwith Way.

A Local Area of Play (LAP) will be located centrally within the site.

There will be a 15m buffer along the northern boundary between the housing and Swanwick Nature Reserve (SINC). There will also be a significant number of new trees planted throughout the site.

Highways

A Transport Statement is being prepared to assess the impact the proposed development may have on the local highway network.

The Assessment has looked at traffic generation and concluded that during peak times there will be an extra 27 trips in the AM (08:00 – 09:00) and an extra 23 trips and in the PM (17:00-18:00). These will have an impact on the junctions of Swanwick Lane/A27 and Swanwick Lane/Botley Road with an increase of approximately 12-14 vehicles in peak times resulting in 1 car every 4 minutes.

A Vehicular Swept Path Analysis has been undertaken to demonstrate that large vehicles can safely service the site and all properties can be accessed easily by emergency vehicles.

Parking will be provided to meet the standards set out in the Council’s Parking Standards SPD including some visitor parking throughout the site.

Drainage

A Flood Risk Assessment and Drainage Statement will be submitted with the application. This will assess the current situation and potential impact of the development.

The site is located within Flood Zone 1 which is the lowest risk of flooding.

The proposal will connect to the existing public foul sewer located within Swanwick Lane. Southern Water have confirmed that there is sufficient capacity to accommodate a development of this size.

Underground attenuation crates and a hydro-brake device will be incorporated to limit surface water runoff from the site. This mitigates the flood risk for the site and to any neighbouring properties. This will be connected to the public storm sewer in Glen Road at the manhole. Southern Water have again confirmed there is capacity.

Ecology

Reptile Surveys have been carried out and have found slow worms and juvenile grass snakes. Any reptiles found will be translocated in the 15m buffer strip along the northern boundary which has been designed into the site.

The site is a poor habitat for Great Crested Newts, however they are located within the Nature Reserve and therefore there is still potential for them to commute along the hedgerows.

Invertebrate surveys are being undertaken for Purple Emperor Butterflies. Records show that they are present in the Nature Reserve and could use the site for basking. None have been found on site.

Dormice tubes were placed around the site but there has been no evidence of their presence.

Bat surveys have been carried out due to the high potential of the site for foraging and commuting. A number of species have been found and surveys are ongoing.

Landscape and Trees

A Landscape Appraisal has been undertaken to assess the development’s potential effects on the local landscape character and visual amenity. Following the preliminary assessment, a number of design iterations were introduced to minimise and mitigate against negative effects introduced by the built form. The design aims to reflect and respond to the village environment of Swanwick Lane and Sopwith Way. The enclosed nature of the site and surrounding built environment restricts and limits views from the surrounding area.,

An Arboricultural Survey and Impact Assessment have also been prepared to analyse the risk on existing vegetation and identify any potential conflicts.